O'Sullivan sticks to steady Eddie

The Grand Slam is in sight, but no one in the camp is mentioning it

After completing the third leg of their quest for hero status, the Ireland players did not wait to milk the applause at Lansdowne Road. They headed straight for the dressing room, where any mood of celebration following their 15-12 victory over France was gatecrashed by a feeling of relief.

While David Humphreys, a stand-in stand-off, has accumulated 55 points – 11 more than Jonny Wilkinson – France have seen their defence of the Six Nations miss the target by a wide margin. Gerald Merceron paid the penalty for missing kicks against England and his replacement, François Gelez, has also departed in a tumbril. For the match against Italy in Rome next Sunday, Les Bleus' occupant at No 10 will be Frédéric Michalak.

A recent trend in the Six Nations was for try-rich extravaganzas, in which France were the common denominator. This season they have conceded only one try, to England, but failed to cross the Irish line. Ireland are very proud of the fact that they, too, have given away only one try.

Last season Ireland's promising progress was rudely interrupted by shattering defeats on the road, to England and France, and Mike Ford, their minister of defence, was in the firing line. He was granted a stay of execution. "Mike asked for 18 months to do the job properly, and to be fair to him he's produced the results,'' Eddie O'Sullivan, the Ireland coach, said. "We all went through a baptism of fire last year. They were tough times and our confidence was shaken.''

But compared to Wales, whom Ireland meet in Cardiff on Saturday, O'Sullivan does not know how to spell tough times. While the Welsh once again find themselves at a crossroads without a map, O'Sullivan draws on the success of the provinces and a squad of players contracted to the national cause.

"We're fortunate in getting the right structure,'' O'Sullivan said. "When the game went professional the IRFU took their time and looked at the options, but even then we had teething problems. Secondly, we have a natural base of provincial rugby. We have always had the four provinces, and the problem for Wales is that they do not have that historical dimension. Wales's strength has been in the clubs, so their dilemma is whether to break with tradition. Unless you have lots of players, like England or New Zealand, you need a maximum of three or four teams. I don't know what the solution is for Wales, but they need to concentrate on the top players in the squads.''

While half the population of Ireland were at the Cheltenham Festival last week, O'Sullivan was again working with his charges in Dublin, and again the message was the same: don't mention the Grand Slam. He did such a good job of talking up the French two weeks ago that his team almost forgot the passion play. "It could be argued that we were a bit lucky to beat France, but we played well when it counted,'' O'Sullivan said. "Conditions dictated it would be trench warfare and very close. If you listen to all the hype you can lose your objective.''

However, even O'Sullivan admits that against Wales Ireland will be favourites. It is based not just on form but history. Ireland's record in Cardiff is extraordinary. The last time Wales savoured a home victory over the Irish was 20 years ago. In their last two meetings Ireland have scored 90 points, Wales 16, and on both occasions Humphreys contributed 19 points. "We have a better record against Wales in Cardiff than Dublin, and I've no idea why,'' O'Sullivan said. "It got to the point where the joke was that we should play Wales in Cardiff all the time. This is still a big ask for us. England were expected to steamroller Wales and it didn't happen. The Welsh have to travel to Paris, which probably means our visit represents their only chance of getting a scalp.''

Steve Hansen, O'Sullivan's counterpart, is facing the prospect of going into the World Cup on the back of a whitewash – if he lasts that long. "Why would I want to leave?'' he asked. "Do you sack the coach and get rid of the players? This is the best we've got. I'd like 10 more ball- carriers, but we haven't got them.''

Ireland lost one ball-carrier in Keith Wood but found another in Victor Costello. Wales had one of the best in Scott Quinnell, but he and Hansen did not get on like a house of fire. Even so, the upshot is that Wales are trying to salvage something from the charred remains.